454: Printf Hello
Uri Shaked, creator of Wokwi and Tiny Tapeout, explains how Tiny Tapeout democratizes ASIC design by leveraging open-source PDKs and a shared mask strategy to offer chip manufacturing for around $100. He details the technical challenges of building Wokwi, a web-based simulator for embedded systems, including reverse-engineering processor instruction sets and complex peripheral behaviors like SHA and SPI. Shaked also outlines his business strategy, which involves selling space on silicon via Tiny Tapeout and offering Wokwi through a freemium model, VS Code integration, and an on-premise CI/CD solution for professional users.